(Day before the announcement)
The door opened and Lady Amberylle entered. She saw Serina and then turned to glare at her husband. She crossed to the bedroom, entered and slammed the door behind her.

Vorbis stood, and turned to Davyd, "Send a messenger to the General. I want him and several of his men to meet me here so we can go inspect these sites."

"I will dispatch someone," Davyd replied.

"Serina, would you join me for a night walk?  It seems my wife has decided to retire for the evening."  Vorbid stood and walked to her offering his hand in the proper form of a gentleman.  "I do hate walking alone."  Vorbis studied her with his intense eyes, knowing what her answer would be.

 "I would be honored."  She curstied as he made a short bow.
 
He did not miss the glare Davyd shot him.
**********************************************
 
He was silent as they walked up to the upper most parts of the warren.  Wandering most the way and trying to figure out how to navigate the half hallway, half tunnel passageways that catacombed the warren.  Finally they stepped out into the moonlight.  Serina broke the silence.  "You have a lovely wife."
 
"She is, but she does not love me."  He walked to the wall and looked down.  Below him sat tents illuminated by small campfires.  "It has been a long time since we have shared a bed together."  He hung his head.  "But I am sure you do not want to hear about this.  And I have greater problems at hand than a wife who would kill me if she got the chance."  He turned to look at her, the pain on his face over his wife clear to her.
 
"It must be hard to deal with all of this stress.  I know my father would not be as far as he is without my mother helping him."  She walked to the wall where he was. 
 
"Then he is a very lucky man.  What I would not give for that kind of relationship.  No matter how I tried to appease her, she never was satisfied."  He looked at Serina as he ran a finger down the side of her cheek.  "To be your age again and have it to do all over."
 
He just sat looking at her in the moonlight as the silence wrapped around them like a thick cloth.  
 
Serina spoke softly, but it seemed to be echoed with the night air.  "Why did you marry her?"
 
"I loved her.  But she just saw a nobleman, and when I got nothing for my inheritance, she found she was bored of me.  And nothing I could do would make her happy."  He looked down at the tents.  "Are those the nomads?"
 
"I would think so."  She looked at him, his golden hair was like a halo in the moonlight.  "There has been talk of them camping outside the warren."
 
"I think our walk is through and I should get on that note to Tarkan."  He stood up.  "A leaders work is never done."  He took her arm and led her back to the apartment.
*****************************************
 
This was perfect, he could rid himself of Tarkan, test the Warrenladies resolve, and remove his wife from the warren in one move.  And when he has Serina in a house outside the warren, he will be in a better position to use her to his advantage as well.  And then the Warrenlady would have to help them settle, or lose her warren as well.
 
He opened the door to Amberylle's room.  "Time for you to go."  He stepped in, she sat on the bed with a book open in her lap.  "I have an urgent message for Tarkan, and I need you to deliver it."  He walked over and snatched the book out of her lap and snapped it shut.  He turned it to look at the cover, then arched a brow.  "Dragon rider filth, you read this in bed now?"  He dropped the book on dragon mating and the effects on the riders to the floor and kicked it under the bed.  "Get up woman, I don't have time."
 
"You do need to find me some transport, do you not Vorbis?"  She stretched getting out of bed with a smirk on her face.
 
"Have it already arranged.  Do hurry, this is most pressing."  He walked out of the room.
 
"Daft man."  She seethed as he shut the door.  "Thinks it will help to get me out of the warren for a few days so he can have that tramp all to himself.  I think I will put a hem in that suit."  She dressed and figured she would make a quick stop on her way to her ride.

She found pen and paper and quickly wrote a note to Meena, she would slip it under her door on her way to the green.  Vorbis would not get much of a chance to seduce the girl if Meena had her way about it she was sure.

(Tag-Kris & Kris)
**************************************************************
 
C'aranth looked out the large window of his apartment.  When he returned the only thing to have changed was that Nikol had left a note telling him he had borrowed a book.  Everything else was as he had left it, all the books in order and all his papers stacked neatly.

He looked back at Renata sitting on the bed looking at him.  She did look different, and it was not just the hair that looked like a death shroud compared to the golden mantle he was use to.  She was an accepted rider of the warren, and as such she had all her honor back.  She was different.

"You have your own apartment now?"  He turned back and walked to her.  The light from the single candle was swallowed up in the crisp blue moonlight.

"Yes."  She put down the papers she was looking at, they were drawings he had done today.  "I was hoping to convince you to come and stay with me.  It is big and has plenty of space for your books."  She leaned on him as he sat, her hair still smelled fresh from the bath they took together.

"I don't think so.  I like it here."  He wrapped an arm around her.  "Anyway, I would just get under your feet.  You will have duties to perform.  I have none.  I will just stay up here and read my books."

"What do you mean you have no duties?"  She looked at him a bit surprised.  "I am sure there are things you can do here.  Have you talked to the Warrenlady?"

"I am afraid my relationship with her is a bit strained.  Having been the one to stab a wing leader as well as openly fight in the dining hall.  I doubt she would like to hear how I want her to make me part of the warren.  I think she is half way to considering casting me out to live with the land bound."  He let his body fall back to the bed, pulling her with him.  "Besides, it gives me time to think."

She looked at him, her eyes looking right through him.  She could tell by the way he spoke trying to justify his lack of position.  He wanted to have a job in the warren, something he could do.  But she could also see he was too proud to ask for it either.  "I see, if that is what you want love."  She kissed him softly.

(Tag John)
****************************************************
(Same night back at the Settlers camp)
Amberylle heated the wax, then pulled out the copy of Vorbis's seal.  She pressed the seal in the wax resealing the letter.  She could not believe Vorbis would think Tarkan would do this.  And now she had more reason to get back to the warren.  Cynthia had to know about this.  She had to intervene or else it would be a war for sure.

There was a tap on the tent.  "Who is it?"

"Your servant Tarkan.  May I enter?"  Tarkan's voice was muffled by the heavy tent material.

"Enter."  She blew on the wax to cool it quicker as Tarkan slipped into the tent.  He stood up and snapped off a sharp salute.

"I was told you wanted to see me."  He relaxed a bit when he saw the letter.

"Yes, your Lord has sent orders."  She handed over the letter.  "I am sure you will do what is right."

Tarkan took the letter, his thumb pressed into the wax leaving an imprint, but he seemed not to notice and opened the letter.  His eyes scanned over the letter and then he folded it back up and slipped it into his coat.  "Is there anything else?"

Amberylle shrugged.  "No, should there be?"

"The letter was opened.  Do you know who had opened it?"  He stepped closer to her.

"I am sure I have no idea."  She straitened her body and she looked him in the eye.  She was lucky he was short.  He nodded and started for the tent.  "I will need a horse, I am going back to the warren."

"Cannot do that, the letter said to keep you here."  He looked back over his shoulder at her.

"It said no such thing."  She stepped forward, the arrogance of the man to try to keep his superior from what she desired, and to lie about the reasons.  "To think you Tarkan would...."  She stopped, his eyes looked at her with a mixture of respect and disappointment.  "I did read the letter Tarkan, I am sorry.  I should not have lied to you."  She walked back to a chair and sat, Tarkan closed the tent and walked over to her.  "Are you going to go through with it?"

"Soldiers duty, I have to obey."  Tarkan sat in the other chair across from her.  "And your running off to tell everyone about it will not help.  I only have one hundred men.  If I am to attack a camp of nomads, which if stories are true, all can fight man woman and child.  Then I will need all one hundred.  Vorbis said there are only a few hundred total in the camp, but I would suspect it is about five hundred."  He sighed.  "And even if you were able to warn them, what if they decided to attack us instead.  I will have one hundred dead boys to bury, if I survived."

He stood and walked to the door.  "Anyway, you will need to stay here to keep an eye on the settlers, we cannot leave them without leadership."  He bowed, "With your permission?"

She nodded and he stepped out of the tent.
*******************************************************
(The night of the celebration and announcement, at the warren)

Cynthia was dancing with Trevor when her arm was caught and she was turned.  C'aranth held her arm,  "Warrenlady I must talk with you, alone."  He stepped away, the crowd folding in behind him.  Cynthia patted Trevor's arm and followed.

The two stepped into the hallway outside the room full of people celebrating.  "What is it C'aranth?"  She could finally talk in a normal voice without having to try and speak above the crowd.  She looked at him, he was covered in dust and mud caked his boots and trousers to the knee.  Small bits of grass and twigs were stuck in his hair.

"There is an army moving to the warren, only about one hundred men.  But they are moving fast and trying to keep it hidden.  I doubt a dragon rider would see them unless her knew what he was looking for.  Their colors are struck and they are moving in a staggered line formation.  Four scouts about five hundred feet in the lead in arrowhead formation, and the archers are bringing up the rear."  He looked at her.  "I thought you should know, incase you wanted to form a couture attack.  I thought you might want to strike them before they reached the warren."

"Are they going to attack the warren?"  She looked at him all covered in mud and filth.  "What makes you think they are going to attack us."

"No disrespect, but I know a war party when I see one.  They had this on their surcoats."  He pulled out a drawing of a coat of arms from the bag that was on his back.  "I was out drawing when I spotted them, on the ground they are not hard to find, but they kept to the heavy foliage.  They were trying to keep out of dragoneyes.  At their current rate of travel they will be here by dawn."

(Tag-Alton)

Darren Hunter
korzad@lgcy.com


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